Method for purifying gas containing hydrocarbons

ABSTRACT

A hydrocarbon gas containing H 2 S, mercaptans and CO 2  is fed to an absorption plant operated at a pressure of 20 to 80 bar and supplied with a selective solvent, a solvent stream loaded with H 2 S and a roughly desulfurized gas stream are withdrawn, the H 2 S loaded solvent stream is charged to a regeneration plant and the roughly desulfurized gas stream is charged to an absorption and regeneration plant operated at a pressure of 20 to 80 bar, a large first gas stream of H 2 S and CO 2  and an unloaded solvent stream are withdrawn from the absorption regeneration plant, and the large first gas steam of H 2 S and CO 2  is supplied to a Claus plant, and a valuable hydrocarbon gas stream is withdrawn from the absorption and regeneration plant.

This is a 371 of PCT/EP03/03413 filed 2 Apr. 2003 (international filing date).

This invention relates to a process of cleaning gas, in particular hydrocarbonaceous gas such as e.g. natural gas, which is contaminated with sulfur in the form of H₂S and mercaptan as well as CO₂.

BACKGOUND OF THE INVENTION

The document WO 97/26069 describes a process of cleaning gases containing carbon dioxide and sulfur, in which there are sulfur-contaminated impurities in the form of mercaptans and H₂S. In a first absorption, the sulfur-contaminated impurities are removed from the gas, in order to produce a clean gas stream and a sour gas stream, the sour gas being hydrogenated in order to convert a major amount of mercaptans to H₂S. The hydrogenated sour gas is introduced into a second absorption/regeneration plant, in which the sour gas is separated into a first gas stream rich in H₂S, which is introduced into a Claus plant, and a second gas stream containing little H₂S, which is supplied to the postcombustion. The Claus plant is followed by a tail gas aftertreatment, in which the H₂S is reduced further and a gas rich in H₂S is withdrawn.

Another unpublished application describes a process for removing the undesired sulfur-containing substances in the form of H₂S and mercaptan from crude gas. Crude gas is introduced into an absorption and regeneration column and washed therein, three gas streams being withdrawn from this absorption and regeneration column. A first exhaust gas stream is introduced into a Claus plant, a second sour gas stream with a low concentration of H₂S is introduced into another absorption plant, and a third gas stream, the valuable gas with the mercaptans, is cooled and supplied to an adsorption plant. From this adsorption plant, a cleaned valuable gas is withdrawn and a gas stream containing mercaptan is subjected to washing, which is then supplied to the Claus plant.

What is disadvantageous in these processes is the considerable effort for raising the H₂S content of the exhaust gas of the first washing stage operating at high pressure, which removes both the H₂S contained in the feed gas and the entire CO₂, such that an easy and economically expedient generation of sulfur in the Claus plant is possible. There is required a second absorption plant, whose operation for reprocessing the solvent used consumes very much energy. The operation of this absorption plant, and in particular the adjustment with the other plant components, is very expensive and complicated.

It is the object underlying the invention to create an improved process for cleaning hydrocarbonaceous gas, in which the energy consumption and thus the costs for generating a feed gas as rich in H₂S as possible for the Claus plant can distinctly be decreased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, this object is solved in that before the absorption and regeneration plant operated at a pressure of the feed gas of 20–80 bar abs. another absorption plant is provided, which operates at the same pressure of 20–80 bar abs with a selective solvent and roughly desulfurizes the feed gas to 100–10,000 ppmV H₂S, a solvent stream loaded with hydrogen sulfide being withdrawn from this preceding absorption plant and being supplied to a succeeding regeneration, that from the preceding absorption plant a third gas stream, the roughly desulfurized crude gas, is supplied to the absorption and regeneration plant, and from this absorption and regeneration plant the valuable gas is withdrawn, which is supplied to a further use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Due to the rough preliminary desulfurization by the preceding absorption plant, the first small gas stream, which is supplied from the regeneration plant to the Claus plant, consists of up to 95 vol-% hydrocarbon and up to 30 vol-% carbon dioxide. The second gas stream, which is supplied from the regeneration plant to the Claus plant, consists of 20 to 90 vol-% hydrogen sulfide, maximally 80 vol-% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of mercaptan.

Due to the fact that from the preceding absorption column a solvent stream highly loaded with H₂S is withdrawn and supplied to the regeneration plant, the solvent stream is by 30 to 60% smaller than in accordance with the prior art, depending on the plant configuration. Thus, the energy consumption for the regeneration likewise is smaller by 30 to 60%.

The roughly desulfurized crude gas is withdrawn from the preceding absorption column as second gas stream and supplied to a second washing stage comprising absorption and regeneration. Since in this second washing stage only a very small amount of H₂S must be washed out apart from CO₂, the required amount of solvent also is distinctly smaller here than in the prior art, namely 20 to 70% smaller in dependence on the H₂S/CO₂ ratio, so that here as well 45% less regeneration energy is required.

As preferred solvent of the preceding absorption plant, there is typically used methyldiethanolamine (MDEA).

The preceding, selective absorption plant is configured such that beside a rather large amount of H₂S a rather small amount of CO₂ is absorbed. It is known that in the case of the solvent MDEA the absorption of CO₂ is limited by the absorption rate, so that it can be minimized by only briefly bringing the feed gas in contact with the solvent MDEA. The contact time necessary for the absorption of H₂S decreases with increasing pressure of the feed gas and at a pressure of e.g. 50 bar abs lies in the range of up to 20 seconds.

As product, there is obtained a gas which has a low content of H₂S (typically 100–10,000 ppmV), but still contains a large part of the CO₂ contained in the feed gas. Both the CO₂ and the remaining small amount of H₂S then are completely removed from the valuable gas in the succeeding high-pressure washing stage and discharged as exhaust gas together with a part of the mercaptan contained in the feed gas. The degree of sulfur recovery of the entire plant is increased in that this exhaust gas is introduced into the hydrogenation of the tail gas plant, in order to convert sulfur components into H₂S, and is then introduced into the absorption plant of the tail gas plant.

Since the low H₂S content required for the valuable gas need only be achieved after this second high-pressure washing stage, the preceding absorption plant can employ solvent which comes from the tail gas washing stage of the Claus plant and already contains H₂S and CO₂. The total amount of MDEA solution to be reprocessed in a regeneration thus is minimized. Alternatively, unloaded solvent can also be used. The H₂S concentrations in the exhaust gas supplied from the regeneration to the Claus plant, which can be achieved by a suitable configuration of the absorption plant, are higher than those to be achieved in accordance with the prior art, so that the Claus plant can be designed correspondingly smaller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The drawing illustrates the components of the process.

Embodiments of the process will be explained by way of example with reference to the drawing.

Via line (1), crude gas is introduced into a first absorption column (21), in which most of the H₂S contained is washed out. As solvent, a solvent stream (16) is supplied to the absorption column (21), which solvent stream was preloaded with H₂S and CO₂ in a succeeding tail gas absorption plant (29).

From the absorption column (21), a solvent stream (17) highly loaded with H₂S is withdrawn and supplied to a regeneration plant (22). From the regeneration plant (22), a first small gas stream (3) is directly supplied to the Claus plant (27). This exhaust gas stream (3) chiefly consists of up to 95 vol-% hydrocarbon and up to 30 vol-% CO₂ with small amounts of mercaptan (up to 0.3 vol-%) and H₂S (up to 5 vol-%).

A second, larger gas stream (4), which contains 20–90 vol-% H₂S, 10–80 vol-% CO₂ and up to 3000 ppmV mercaptan, likewise is directly supplied to the Claus plant (27). As further stream, an unloaded solvent stream (18) is withdrawn, which is supplied to the tail gas absorption plant (29). Should the amount of solvent required in the first absorption column (21) be larger than the one used in the tail gas absorption plant (29), it is also possible that via line (19) unloaded solvent is directly supplied from the regeneration plant (22) to the absorption column (21). Should the amount of solvent required in the first absorption column (21) be smaller than the one used in the tail gas absorption plant (29), it is also possible that via line (20) preloaded solvent is directly supplied from the tail gas absorption plant (29) to the regeneration plant (22).

From the absorption column (21), a second gas stream (2), the roughly desulfurized crude gas, is withdrawn and supplied to a second washing stage (23) comprising absorption and regeneration. The roughly desulfurized crude gas (2) still contains a large part of the mercaptan contained in the crude gas, 100–10,000 ppmV H₂S and 50–95% of the CO₂ contained in the crude gas. From this second washing stage (23), a first gas stream (6) is withdrawn, which in one of the other partial plants (e.g. Claus plant (27) or hydrogenation (28) or for instance in a not represented exhaust gas postcombustion) is utilized as fuel gas or can be discharged to the outside via line (30). This gas stream (6) chiefly consists of up to 80 vol-% hydrocarbon and up to 20 vol-% CO₂ with small amounts of mercaptan (up to 0.3 vol-%) and H₂S (up to 5000 ppmV). As second gas stream (5), the valuable gas with the largest part of the mercaptan is withdrawn from the second washing stage (23) via line (5) and then e.g. cooled (24) and supplied to an adsorption (25) via line (8) for removing the mercaptan. A third gas stream from the absorption plant (23), which contains up to 99.8 vol-% CO₂, up to 10 vol-% H₂S and 0.2 vol-% mercaptan, is supplied to a hydrogenation (28) via line (7).

The Claus plant (27) is a plant known per se, which consists of a combustion furnace as well as a plurality of catalytic reactors for performing the reaction. The liquid sulfur obtained is withdrawn via line (30) and supplied to a further use. In the Claus plant (27), there is always obtained a so-called residual Claus gas, which apart from non-condensed elementary sulfur contains unreacted sulfur dioxide and H₂S. This residual gas is withdrawn via line (13) and subjected to an aftertreatment, in order to increase the degree of sulfur recovery. Via line (13), the residual Claus gas is supplied to a hydrogenation plant (28), which via line (7) is also supplied with the gas from the second washing stage (23). In the hydrogenation (28), mercaptan and SO₂ are converted to H₂S and supplied to an absorption plant (29) via line (14). From the absorption plant (29), a solvent loaded with H₂S and CO₂ is supplied via line (16) to the first absorption column (21) for the further absorption of H₂S, before it is reprocessed in the regeneration plant (22) as described above and the entire H₂S obtained is supplied to the Claus plant (27). In this way, a high degree of sulfur recovery is achieved.

The remaining gas only contains very little (up to 2000 ppmV) H₂S and is withdrawn from the absorption plant (29) via line (15) and for instance supplied to a combustion.

EXAMPLE

The following Table shows an analysis of the gas streams and the liquid process streams in the individual lines.

Line No.: 1 2 3 Process Crude Roughly Desulfurized First Let-down Gas Stream Stream Gas Crude Gas to Claus Plant Phase gas gas gas Components Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % CO2 21680 967.3 2.59 18645 831.85 2.25 5.24 0.23 0.98 N2 29102 1298.4 3.48 29093 1298.0 3.51 9.03 0.40 1.68 CH4 705460 31474.1 84.26 704982 31453 85.00 461.87 20.61 86.18 C2H6 45661 2037.1 5.45 45629 2035.7 5.50 29.41 1.31 5.49 C3H8 18593 829.5 2.22 18575 828.7 2.24 17.17 0.77 3.20 i-C4 2981 133.0 0.36 2981 133.0 0.36 0.57 0.03 0.11 n-C4 4333 193.3 0.52 4331 193.2 0.52 1.89 0.08 0.35 i-C5 1203 53.7 0.14 1203 53.7 0.15 0.21 0.01 0.04 n-C5 1040 46.4 0.12 1040 46.4 0.13 0.21 0.01 0.04 C6 cut 751 33.5 0.09 751 33.5 0.09 0.25 0.01 0.05 C7 cut 379 16.9 0.05 379 16.9 0.05 0.03 0.00 0.01 C8 140 6.2 0.02 140 6.2 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00 C9 93 4.1 0.01 93 4.1 0.01 0.05 0.00 0.01 H2S 5851 26103 0.699 401.4 17.91 484 0.05 5.41 0.24 1.01 COS 2.5 0.11 3 0.0003 1.7 0.07 2 0.0002 0.01 0.00 20 0.00 CH3SH 21.8 0.97 26 0.0026 19.9 0.89 24 0.0024 0.13 0.01 250 0.03 C2H5SH 117.2 5.23 140 0.0140 99.5 4.44 120 0.0120 0.63 0.03 1170 0.12 C3H7SH 47.7 2.13 57 0.0057 46.4 2.07 56 0.0056 0.29 0.01 540 0.05 C4H9SH 5.0 0.22 6 0.0006 5.0 0.22 6 0.0006 0.05 0.00 90 0.01 CS2 SO2 SX CO H2 O2 H2O saturated! 1019 45.48 0.12 3.49 0.16 0.65 Flow Nm³/h 837240 100.00 829433 100.00 536 100.00 Flow kg/h 723091 709163 449 Flow Kgmole/h 37353 37005 24 Flow MMSCFD 750.00 743.01 0.480 Mole Wt. Kg/Kg 19.36 19.16 18.77 mole Temp. ° C. 10 42 29 Pressure bar 68.0 67.8 6.0 (abs) Density Kg/m³ Vap. Frac — 1.0 1.0 1.0 Line No.: 4 5 6 Process Exhaust Gas Rich in Valuable Gas Second Let-down Gas Stream H_(s)S to Claus Plant for Gas Cooling Stream Phase gas gas gas Components Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h Ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % CO2 5625.8 250.99 46.01 41 1.81 50 0.005 72.63 3.24 18.59 N2 29087 1297.72 3.59 5.47 0.24 1.40 CH4 17.12 0.76 0.14 704689 31439.68 86.94 266.08 11.87 68.10 C2H6 2.45 0.11 0.02 45600 2034.46 5.63 24.22 1.08 6.20 C3H8 1.22 0.05 0.01 18564 828.25 2.29 8.60 0.38 2.20 i-C4 2979 132.92 0.37 1.56 0.07 0.40 n-C4 4329 193.13 0.53 2.03 0.09 0.52 i-C5 1202 53.64 0.15 0.59 0.03 0.15 n-C5 1039 46.36 0.13 0.51 0.02 0.13 C6 cut 750 33.48 0.09 0.39 0.02 0.10 C7 cut 379 16.91 0.05 0.16 0.01 0.04 C8 140 6.23 0.02 0.08 0.00 0.02 C9 93 4.14 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.01 H2S 6174.5 275.47 50.50 2.5 0.11 3 0.000 0.39 0.02 0.10 COS 0.8 0.04 69 0.01 0.4 0.019 1 0.00 0.01 0.00 20 0.00 CH3SH 1.7 0.08 141 0.01 16.5 0.738 20 0.00 0.11 0,00 280 0.03 C2H5SH 17.1 0.76 1395 0.14 82.6 3.686 102 0.01 0.59 0.03 1500 0.15 C3H7SH 1.0 0.04 81 0.01 44.6 1.990 55 0.01 0.21 0.01 540 0.05 C4H9SH 0.0 0.00 0 0.00 4.7 0.212 6 0.00 0.02 0.00 60 0.01 CS2 SO2 SX CO H2 O2 H2O 385 17.18 3.15 1528 68.17 0.19 7.05 0.31 1.80 Flow Nm³/h 12227 100.0 810572 100.0 391 100.0 Flow kg/h 20818 672080 414 Flow Kgmole/h 545 36164 17 Flow MMSCFD 10.953 726.111 0.350 Mole Wt. kg/kg 38.16 18.58 23.74 mole Temp. ° C. 35 50 47 Pressure bar 1.8 66.8 6.0 (abs) Density kg/m³ Vap. Frac — 1.0 1.0 1.0 Line No.: 7 8 9 Process Exhaust Gas Rich in Cooled Valuable Gas Sweet Stream CO₂ to Hydrogenation to Mole Sieve Plant Gas Phase gas gas gas Components Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % CO2 18532 826.80 90.78 41 1.81 0.005 41 1.81 0.005 N2 29087 1297.72 3.59 29073 1297.07 3.60 CH4 26.54 1.18 0.13 704689 31439.68 87.1 704337 31423.96 87.12 C2H6 4.08 0.18 0.02 45600 2034.46 5.64 45578 2033.44 5.64 C3H8 2.04 0.09 0.01 18564 828.25 2.29 18550 827.63 2.29 i-C4 2979 132.92 0.37 2978 132.85 0.37 n-C4 4329 193.13 0.53 4327 193.03 0.54 i-C5 1202 53.64 0.15 1202 53.61 0.15 n-C5 1039 46.36 0.13 1039 46.34 0.13 C6 cut 750 33.48 0.09 749 33.42 0.09 C7 cut 379 16.91 0.05 377 16.82 0.05 C8 140 6.23 0.02 138 6.16 0.02 C9 93 4.14 0.01 89 3.95 0.01 H2S 398.6 17.78 19525 1.95 2 0.11 3 0.00 2.5 0.110 3 0.00 COS 1.22 0.05 60 0.01 0 0.02 1 0.00 0.4 0.019 1 0.00 CH3SH 3.27 0.15 160 0.02 17 0.74 20 0.002 0.2 0.011 0.3 0.00 C2H5SH 16.33 0.73 800 0.08 83 3.69 102 0.01 1.4 0.063 1.7 0.0002 C3H7SH 1.63 0.07 80 0.01 45 1.99 55 0.006 0.7 0.030 0.8 0.0001 C4H9SH 0.20 0.01 10 0.00 5 0.21 6 0.001 0.1 0.004 0.1 0.000 CS2 SO2 SX CO H2 O2 H2O 1428 63.71 7.00 144 6.43 0.02 1 0.04 1.0 0.0001 Flow Nm³/h 20414 100.0 809188 100.0 808481 100.0 Flow kg/h 38232 670968 670035 Flow Kgmole/h 911 36102 36070 Flow MMSCFD 18,287 725 724,237 Mole Wt. kg/kg 41.98 19 18.58 mole Temp. ° C. 50 10 25 Pressure bar 1.8 66.5 65.2 (abs) Density Kg/m³ Vap. Frac. — 1.0 1 1.0 Line No.: 10 11 12 Process Gas Stream Fuel Gas Enriched Mercaptan Gas Stream Containing Mercaptan to Plant Boundary to Claus Plant Phase gas gas gas Components Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % CO2 N2 7814.5 348.65 29.27 7812.2 348.54 29.55 2.3 0.10 0.80 CH4 18552.3 827.71 69.49 18447 822.99 69.78 105.7 4.72 36.13 C2H6 22.8 1.02 0.09 22.3 1.00 0.08 0.5 0.02 0.16 C3H8 13.9 0.62 0.05 11.9 0.53 0.05 2.0 0.09 0.68 i-C4 1.5 0.07 0.01 1.0 0.05 0.00 0.4 0.02 0.15 n-C4 2.2 0.10 0.01 1.8 0.08 0.01 0.4 0.02 0.12 i-C5 0.6 0.03 0.00 0.3 0.01 0.00 0.3 0.02 0.12 n-C5 0.5 0.02 0.00 0.2 0.01 0.00 0.3 0.01 0.10 C6 cut 1.3 0.06 0.00 1.3 0.06 0.44 C7 cut 2.1 0.09 0.01 2.1 0.09 0.71 C8 1.7 0.08 0.01 1.7 0.08 0.60 C9 4.3 0.19 0.02 4.3 0.19 1.47 H2S COS CH3SH 16.3 0.73 610 0.061 0.2 0.009 8 0.001 16.1 0.72 5.49 C2H5SH 81.2 3.62 3042 0.304 0.3 0.014 12 0.001 80.9 3.61 27.64 C3H7SH 43.9 1.96 1645 0.165 0.9 0.040 34 0.003 43.0 1.92 14.70 C4H9SH 4.7 0.21 174 0.017 0.7 0.029 25 0.003 4.0 0.18 1.36 CS2 SO2 SX CO H2 O2 H2O 135 6.02 0.51 135 6.04 0.51 27 1.22 9.31 Flow Nm³/h 26699 100.00 26434 100.00 293 100.00 Flow kg/h 23698 23142 578 Flow Kgmole/h 1191 1179 13 Flow MMSCFD 23.917 23.679 0.262 Mole Wt. kg/kg 19.89 19.62 44.27 mole Temp. ° C. 50 50 57 Pressure bar 24.9 24.6 1.9 (abs) Density kg/m³ Vap. Frac — 1.0 1 1.0 Line No.: 13 14 15 Process Residual Claus Gas Hydrogenated Residual Claus Exhaust Gas Stream to Hydrogenation Gas to Tail Gas Absorption to Postcombustion Phase gas gas gas Components Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % Nm³/h kg Mole/h ppm V Vol % CO2 6026 268.84 17.61 25958 1158.10 42.82 23362 1042.29 43,23 N2 17220 768.27 50.31 21420 955.65 35.34 21420 955.65 39.64 CH4 40.9 1.83 0.07 41 1.83 0.08 C2H6 18.2 0.81 0.03 18 0.81 0.03 C3H8 3.5 0.16 0.01 4 0.16 0.01 i-C4 n-C4 i-C5 n-C5 C6 cut C7 cut C8 C9 H2S 137 6.09 0.40 757.7 33.81 1.25 27.02 1.21 500 0.05 COS 60 2.67 0.17 3.8 0.17 0.01 3.76 0.17 70 0.01 CH3SH 0.97 0.04 0.00 0.97 0.04 0.00 C2H5SH 5.15 0.23 0.01 5.15 0.23 95 0.01 C3H7SH 0.42 0.02 0.00 0.42 0.02 8 0.00 C4H9SH CS2 7 0.33 0.02 SO2 71 3.16 0.21 SX 14 0.61 0.04 CO 634 28.30 1.85 99.72 4.45 0.16 99.72 4.45 0.18 H2 372 16.61 1.09 1156.1 51.58 1.91 1156.1 51.58 2.14 O2 H2O 9686 432.15 28.30 11154 497.62 18.40 7898 352.35 14.62 Flow Nm³/h 34227 100.00 60618 100.00 54035 100.00 Flow kg/h 42578 88170 79345 Flow Kgmole/h 1527 2704 2411 Flow MMSCFD 31 54.301 48.405 Mole Wt. kg/kg 27.88 32.60 32.91 mole Temp. ° C. 165 175 55 Pressure bar 1.3 1.2 1.1 (abs) Density Kg/m³ Vap. Frac. — 1.0 1.0 1.0 Line No.: 17 18 19 Process Loaded Regenerated Preloaded Stream MDEA MDEA MDEA Phase liquid liquid liquid Components kg/h kg mole/h Wt. % kg/h kg mole/h Wt. % kg/h kg mole/h Wt. % CO2 11177.6 253.98 2.62 121.1 2.8 0.03 5217.9 118.6 1.26 N2 11.3 0.40 0.00 CH4 342.8 21.37 0.08 C2H6 42.7 1.42 0.01 C3H8 36.2 0.82 0.01 i-C4 1.5 0.03 0.00 n-C4 4.9 0.08 0.00 i-C5 0.7 0.01 0.00 n-C5 0.7 0.01 0.00 C6 cut 0.9 0.01 0.00 C7 cut 0.1 0.00 0.00 C8 0.0 0.00 0.00 C9 0.3 0.00 0.00 H2S 9490.2 278.47 2.23 93.8 2.8 0.02 1204.8 35.4 0.29 COS 2.3 0.04 0.00 CH3SH 4.0 0.08 0.00 C2H5SH 49.0 0.79 0.01 C3H7SH 4.3 0.06 0.00 C4H9SH 0.2 0.00 0.00 CS2 SO2 SX CO H2 O2 MDEA 121440 1019 28.51 121440 1019 29.98 121440 1019 29.3 H2O 283340 15727 66.52 283360 15728 69.96 286616 15909 69.15 Flow m³/h 416.4 100.0 400.2 100.0 409.6 100.0 Flow kg/h 425950 405015 414479 Flow kgmole/h 17304 16753 17082 Flow MMSCFD — — — Molar M. kg/ 47.9 48.4 48.0 kgmole T ° C. 32.0 50.0 40.0 P (abs.) bar 68.0 8.0 9.0 (abs) Density kg/m³ 1023 1012 1012 Vap. Frac. — 0.0 0.0 0.0

Corresponding to the values represented in the Table, crude gas is introduced via line (1) into a first absorption column (21), in which the H₂S obtained is washed out except for a residual content of 484 ppmV. For this purpose, the solvent stream (16) preloaded with H₂S and CO₂ in the tail gas absorption plant (29) is sufficient, so that washing in the absorption column (21) does not require an additional amount of solvent as compared to the amount required in the tail gas plant (29). The roughly desulfurized crude gas (2) still contains a large part (84%) of the CO₂ contained in the crude gas in addition to the residual content of H₂S, and also a large part of the mercaptan contained in the crude gas.

From the absorption column (21), a solvent stream (17) highly loaded with H₂S is withdrawn and supplied to a regeneration plant (22). Since the solvent stream is by 47% smaller than in the example described in the unpublished prior art, the energy consumption for the regeneration likewise is smaller by 47%.

From the regeneration plant (22) a first small gas stream (3), which consists of 95 vol-% hydrocarbon and 1 vol-% CO₂ with about 1 vol-% sulfur and mercaptan, is directly supplied to the Claus plant (27).

A second, larger gas stream (4), which consists of 50.5 vol-% H₂S and 46 vol-% CO₂, likewise is directly supplied to the Claus plant (27).

The roughly desulfurized crude gas is withdrawn from the absorption column (21) as second gas stream (2) and supplied to a second washing stage (23) comprising absorption and regeneration. Since in this second washing stage (23) only a very small amount of H₂S must be washed out apart from CO₂, the required amount of solvent here is distinctly smaller than in the numerical example in the unpublished prior art, namely smaller by 45%, so that here as well 45% less regeneration energy is required. From this second washing stage, a first gas stream (6) is withdrawn, which consists of 77 vol-% hydrocarbon and 18.6 vol-% CO₂, and which in the Claus plant (27) is utilized as fuel gas. A second gas stream from the absorption plant (23), which contains 90.8 vol-% CO₂, 1.95 vol-% H₂S and 0.1 vol-% mercaptan, is supplied to a hydrogenation (28) via line (7). As third gas stream (5), the valuable gas with the largest part of the mercaptan is withdrawn from the second washing stage (23), cooled (24) and supplied to an adsorption (25) via line (8). The gas stream (10) containing mercaptan is subjected to a physical washing stage (26), from which the coadsorbed valuable gas is recovered as fuel gas via line (11), and the highly concentrated mercaptan gas is supplied to the Claus plant (27) via line (12). A sweet gas stream is recovered via stream (9). The mercaptan stream is recovered in the regeneration of the Purisol solvent. The amount is small, but with a very high mercaptan concentration of 49 vol-%. In the Claus plant (27), the mercaptan is burnt completely. The resulting SO₂ is reacted with the H₂S from the sour gas of line (4) to obtain sulfur. The liquid sulfur obtained is withdrawn via line (30) and supplied to a further use. The residual gas of the Claus plant chiefly consists of the components CO₂, N₂ and H₂O and is withdrawn via line (13). 

1. A process for removing H₂S, mercaptans and CO₂ from a hydrocarbonaceous feed gas wherein the feed gas is supplied to an absorption plant operated at a pressure of 20 to 80 bar_(abs) and supplied with a solvent which selectively absorbs H₂S; a solvent stream loaded with H₂S and a roughly desulfurized gas stream, desulfurized to a H₂S content of 100 to 10,000 ppmV, are withdrawn from the absorption plant; the solvent stream loaded with H₂S is charged to a regeneration plant and the roughly desulfurized gas stream is charged to an absorption and regeneration plant operated with a pressure of 20 to 80 bar_(abs); a first expansion gas stream, consisting essentially of hydrocarbon and CO₂, and a first waste gas stream, consisting essentially of H₂S, CO₂ and a minor amount of mercaptans, are withdrawn from the regeneration plant for the solvent stream loaded with H₂S and are supplied to a Claus plant; and a valuable gas stream provided for a further utilization is withdrawn from the absorption and regeneration plant for the desulfurized gas stream.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the first waste gas stream withdrawn from the regeneration plant is comprised of 20 to 80 vol-% H₂S, a maximum of 80 vol-% CO₂ and a minor amount of mercaptans.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the first expansion gas stream withdrawn from the regeneration plant is comprised of up to 95 vol-% hydrocarbon and up to 30 vol-% CO₂.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein a regenerated solvent stream is withdrawn from the regeneration plant for the desulfurized gas stream and supplied to a tail gas absorption plant.
 5. The process of claim 4, wherein a solvent stream loaded with H₂S and CO₂ is discharged from the tall gas absorption plant and charged to the absorption plant for the feed gas stream.
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein a hydrocarbonaceous second expansion gas stream is discharged from the absorption and regeneration plant for the desulfurized gas stream and wholly or partly supplied to a hydrogenation plant.
 7. The process of claim 1, wherein a waste gas stream containing CO₂ is withdrawn from the absorption and regeneration plant for the desulfurized gas stream and charged to a hydrogenation plant.
 8. The process of claim 1, wherein a hydrocarbonaceous second expansion gas stream is discharged from the absorption and regeneration plant for the desulfurized gas stream and is wholly or partly supplied to the Claus plant.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein said solvent which selectively absorbs H₂S is methyldiethanolamine (MDEA). 